Example A: Vegan Ginger Muffins.
I have been experimenting with making treats that don’t have refined sugar in them at all, and this is my latest victory. While I like “healthier” sweeteners like brown rice syrup, maple syrup, and maple sugar…to me nothing beats an actual whole food.
So, this is not just a recipe for Vegan Ginger Muffins. It’s a method for baking without using refined sugar. Basically, I substitute dates blended with a bit of non-dairy milk and re-jigger the wet/dry proportions accordingly.
I’ve talked some about how much I like dates before. (Yes, they are pricey, but I order them in bulk here
Try them in this recipe–the results have a wonderfully light, chewy texture, with a slight sweetness and some spiciness from the ginger.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk*
- 10 dates
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- One inch of peeled fresh ginger root
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar (or balsamic)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups ww pastry flour
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp cloves
- 1/2 tsp salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350. Blend the coconut milk, dates, olive oil, molasses, vanilla extract, and ginger root in a Vitamix
In a separate small bowl, mix the vinegar and the baking soda and let it fizz. Pour the fizzy mixture into the vitamix and pulse with the other ingredients.
In a large bowl, mix the flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Pour the liquid mixture in and stir together.
Pour the batter into a muffin pan, it should make 12 muffins.
Bake for 20 minutes.
~ Enjoy!
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Looks good. Very creative. I’m afraid I have been baking with sugar a lot lately. It’s organic at least
Oh Yum!
But a quick Q: any reason maple syrup isn’t a whole food?
(this child of a Vermonter was raised to treat it like it vitamins!)
Hmm, I guess it is a murky one. Since maple syrup is boiled down from sap, I think of it like an oil–completely natural, but refined a bit. So I certainly think it’s by far a better choice than most sweeteners out there, but I don’t know if I would call it a “whole food.” (but others might and that would be totally reasonable!) (also I am not some saint of whole foods, just for the record, vegan donuts, sigh…)
Can you use agave nectar….not sure if it is a whole food or not??One of my favorites for a sweetener!!
I like agave too…however I don’t consider it whole because it is refined somewhat. For me I have two tiers of sugar subs, the preferred being dates because of the nutrient profile. But second tier for when dates don’t work or are not realistic is: agave, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup. I think they all have their place! And really whatever keeps me off the crack..I mean, refined sugar…is helpful to me at this point. (ps rock on Mari! Love u!)
Oooo, like the suggestion to bake with dates as a sweetener! I too am trying to stay off the “crack”– ha! I thought I had it all figured out with the agave nectar, but recently read it’s really not as natural as we might think, still reified. I had no idea. Smart to think of sugar subs in two tiers, one tier better than the other, but all better over the refined sugar, thanks!
I like the idea of not using refined sugar but coconut milk is rather fattening ….. I think. Have anyone tried using soy milk?
This is the “coconut beverage” version of coconut milk–it comes in a carton and has about the same amount of fat as the other plant milks. NOT the full-fat, thick coconut milk in a can. But yes, soy milk works just fine!!